Jefferson's plea agreement calls for her to resign prior to her May 26 sentencing, and U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle said last Thursday that the resignation must occur within 30 days.

But Jefferson's departure cannot come soon enough for the other district assessors, who also voted to freeze funding for her largely moot office. In her guilty plea, Jefferson admitted to funneling over $7,000 from the 4th District assessor's office to herself and her daughter, Angela Coleman, who pleaded guilty alongside her mother.

At a board meeting on Monday, the six assessors said they will ask Jefferson to resign right away. They will also ask Judge Lemelle to rescind the grace period for the resignation and will ask the state attorney general to review options for how to get rid of Jefferson.

According to the board's attorney, Kenneth Pickering, the board's bylaws do not appear to give its members the power to remove a colleague.

The board comprises the seven district assessors. Jefferson did not attend Monday's meeting.

"The problem would be she still has access to writing checks and the ability to make decisions on assessments," said the board's president, 5th District Assessor Tom Arnold. "She is still the assessor. We're not comfortable with it, and we'd rather have her resign. Nobody wants a person who pled guilty to a federal crime to handle public funds."

Even without a federal felony conviction, Jefferson's days as an assessor are numbered -- as are those of her colleagues. The seven district offices will be combined into one at the end of the year. Third District Assessor Erroll Williams recently won an election to become the first citywide assessor.

Jefferson was indicted in June 2008, but her colleagues have not taken any action against her until now. Her attorney, Eddie Castaing, said he cannot comment on Monday's vote until he receives the letter from the board.

"All I know is what the judge said. She's going to follow the judge's orders for now," Castaing said.

Also on Monday, the board voted to cut off funding to Jefferson's district -- which includes the Garden District, the Irish Channel and Central City -- and to remove her name from the board's checking account. The board cannot legally prevent her from disbursing funds from her district office, Arnold said.

The board will ask federal investigators for details about what Jefferson did with 4th District funds and will also ask the state legislative auditor to conduct a forensic audit of Jefferson's office.

A provision in the state constitution requiring the chief deputy assessor to take charge if there is a vacancy does not apply to Orleans Parish until after the consolidation, Pickering said. Once Jefferson resigns, the board may appoint a replacement, he said.

According to a 27-page statement of facts that was part of her plea agreement, Jefferson made out 11 checks from the 4th District Assessor's bank account to straw payees and family members.

The public funds, which added up to $7,030, ended up in the pockets of Jefferson and Coleman. Some of the money went to pay off personal credit card debt.

The siphoning of the 4th District funds was a relatively minor episode in a much larger a scheme to loot money from taxpayer-funded charities set up and controlled by Jefferson and other members of her extended family.